Smart cities — as phenomena of the present and the future, they rely heavily on big data collection about everything from the most-used bus routes to the locations of overflowing trash bins.

And the arrival of 5G networks will drastically and permanently change the big data collection practices for smart cities.

5G Promises Blazingly Fast Speeds and Low Latency

Two features of upcoming 5G networks that people are most excited about are their extraordinarily fast speeds and their almost definite freedom of latency issues. According to some estimations, 5G networks could offer speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, which allows the equivalent of downloading a feature-length film in one second.

It’s also crucial to think of 5G networks as bridges between raw data and data centers. The lack of latency with 5G networks means data gets transmitted to the cloud almost instantly, allowing people or platforms to analyze it and take the necessary actions afterward — meaning 5G is a game-changer for power grids, businesses, homes and more.

The ability to see recent, relevant data is crucial for successful smart cities. It’s not sufficient to merely collect data and fail to do meaningful things with it. 5G will make it possible for the …